Pull socket



LL SQCKET Feb. 27, 1934- Filed Oct. 9, 1928 ail MIN

Patented Feb. 27, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Harvey Hubbell, Incorporated,

Bridgeport,

Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application October 9, 1928. Serial No. 311,367

Claims. (Cl. 173-354) This invention relates to an electric pull socket and has for an object to provide a pull socket in which the various elements are so arranged that both binding posts for connection to the lead 5 wires are at one side of the insulating body away from the switch mechanism so that it is practically impossible for stray strands of wire to come in contact with the switch mechanism and short circuit it.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a structure in which all the elements are easily accessible for assembly, inspection or repair. M

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved mounting for the pull chain guide, and to mount it directly on the insulating body so that the entire works of the switch may be assembled before placing against the shell.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a construction in which the insulating body 20 member comprises a single molded piece, and the chain guide may be mounted directly on this insulating body in such a way as to do away with the usual chain rail and thus simplify the construction.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction combinations and arrangements of parts as will be more fully disclosed in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In this drawing,

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through the shell of a pull socket embodying my. invention showing the interior mechanism in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a detail section substantially on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the interior mecha- Fig. 8 is a top plan and side elevation of the movable switch contact.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the chain guide.

My improved construction of pull socket comprises an insulating body'member 10 which may 1 be molded of porcelain or other suitable material and comprises a support on which the" various elements of the switch mechanism and electrical connections therefor are mounted. This body member inefiect is flattened on one side but preferably has walls surrounding this flat side so as to provide a recess or chamber 11 in which the switch mechanism proper is mounted, and on the opposite side the side walls of the body are provided with spaced recesses 12 and 13 in which are mounted the binding posts 14 and 15 respectively for connection to lead wires, indicated in dotted lines at 17 (Fig. 3). These binding posts are, therefore, separated by the walls 16 of insulating -material so that it is practically impossible when the body member is mounted within the shell for stray strands of wire to become loosened andcome in contact with the other binding post or switch mechanism to form a short circuit. The screw of binding post 15 is mounted on a plate 18 in the recess 13 and this is secured therein by means of an eyelet or other suitable means 19 passing through the wall between the recess 13 and the recess or chamber 11. This eyelet also passes through an extension on the stationary contact .20 and forms an electrical connection between this contact and the binding post 15 while at the same time serving as a means for securing the binding post and the contact to the insulating body.

The screw for the other binding post 14 is mounted in an electrical conducting member 21 which has an extension arranged at substantially right angles to the plane of the portion on which the screw is mounted, as indicated at 22. This extension is seated in the recess in the rear side of the body and has a tapped opening to receive the screw 23. This screw passes lamp' contact 24 and is seated in the groove 25 in'the rear wall of the body. This screw, therefore, serves to secure the binding post 1.4 with its mounting and the screw shell lamp contact 24 to the insulating body, and also forms an electri- ..with projecting through the lower end wall oi! the body to provide acentral lamp contact 30. These contacts are secured to the body by means of a rivet or eyelet 31' passing through the" ex-' tension 29 and the rear wall of the body, as indicated more clearly in Fig. 2.

The movable switch member comprises a resilient sheet metal element shown in detail in Fig. 8. It has a central body 32 provided with a central opening 33 for the pivot pin or mounting 34, and on opposite sides has yieldable wiping contacts 35 which alternately engage the segmental contacts 20 and 28 as the movable contact 32 is rotated with a step by step movement. The opposite sides of the body 32 have upwardly extending lugs 36 facing in opposite directions so as to cooperate with the side walls of openings 37 in a ratchet plate 38 to give a ratchet drive for rotating the contact member 32 with a step by step movement. This ratchet plate 38 is of insulating material, preferably of compressed fibre, and has a central opening which may be lined with a metal washer 39 to receive the pivot stud 34. At one side edge is pivoted a metal connecting link 40, the pivot to the plate being shown at 41, for connection to the flexible pull chain 42. The link 40 has curved over side members 43 forming a sort of socket with a slot 44 in one side so that the end ball of the chain may be placed in this socket with the connecting link 45 passed through the slot. This forms a convenient detachable means for connecting the chain to the ratchet disc. It will also be noted that, as will be more clearly described later, it pulls substantially in the plane of the disc at the periphery thereof so that the usual metal chain rail is not required, one side wall 43 of the link engaging with the edge of the disc so that the pull is always at the periphery of the disc, and the length of the link is such that by striking the inside of the chain guide 57 it limits the outward movement of chain 42 and forms a limit stop with this guide to relieve the ratchet disc 38 of excessive stress.

The movable switch member and the ratchet for operating it are mounted on a pivot stud 34 seating at one end in the socket 46 in the insulating body and there is a spring 4'7 within the socket tending to force the pin outwardly. At its outer end this pin has a square head 48 seated in a similarly shaped opening in the support 49 which rests against the front wall of the body and is secured thereto by any suitable means, such as a rivet or screw 50. This mounting may also have a lug 51 seated in a recess 52 in the wall of the body to retain the mounting in proper position. A coil spring 53 embraces the stud 34 bearing at one end on the under side of the head of the stud and having its free end 54 projecting into said head. The other end of the spring presses against the fibre disc 38 and has its free end 55 projecting into an opening in the disc. This spring, therefore, tends to force the disc 38 inwardly and hold it against the contact 32 and also holds the wiping contacts 35 against the segmental contacts 20 and 28. It, however, permits the disc to yield outwardly during the backward movement and also the contacts 35 to pass over the inclined surfaces 56 on the face of the insulating body. As the ends of this spring are anchored and the spring may thus be wound by turning the stud 34, this spring also tends to swing the ratchet disc 38 backwardly and hold it in the normal inoperative position of Fig. 1.

The chain 42 extends from the link 40 through a chain guide 57 which is preferably funnel shaped. It includes a base or mounting 58 of metal having a hook 59 extending into a recess 59' formed in the insulating body 10. Opposite to this hook the mounting 58 has inwardly extending ears 60 engaging the front wall of the body, as indicated in Fig. 4, to hold the hook in the recess, and this front wall has shoulders 61. The mounting 58 includes a cross bar 62 which is connected to the body of the mounting by a reduced connecting portion 63 preferably located between the two ears 60. This neck is a bendable portion and the guide is made with the cross bar positioned upwardly, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 4. In mounting the guide the hook 59 is placed in the recess and then the cross bar 62 is forced inwardly bending the neck 63 so that the cross bar lies behind the shoulders 61. This securely fastens the guide directly to the insulating body 10 with a very simple operation, and if necessary it may be removed by inserting a screw driver or similar tool in the slot 64 lifting up the cross bar away from the shoulders 61 thus permitting easy removal of the guide. As indicated on the drawing, this guide is mounted at one side of the recess 11 with which the switch mechanism is mounted and is so arranged that it is substantially in alignment with the plane of the ratchet disc 38 and its axis is substantially tangent to the periphery of this disc so that the pull on the chain will be substantially at the periphery of the disc and it will be a direct pull so that the necessity of using the ordinary chain rail is done away with, considerably simplifying the construction. Also as the chain guide 5'7 is mounted directly on the insulating body a separate mounting therefor is not required and the entire internal mechanism of the switch may be assembled on this body together with its operating means and inserted as a unit in the sheet metal shell 65, which may be any of the standard shells including a detachable cap 66. The shell is lined in the usual manner with the fibre insulating lining 67.

It will be apparent that pulling on the chain 42 will swing the ratchet disc 38 counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig. l, and engagement of the lugs 36 on the movable contact 32 with the side walls of the openings 3'7 in the ratchet disc will rotate the contact 32 a quarter revolution. As the pull on the chain is released the disc 38 will be swung backwardly or clockwise by the spring 53 permitting the lugs 36 to engage in the next set of openings 37 and so on. Thus alternate pulls on the pull chain will rotate the con tact 32 with a step by step movement a quarter revolution at a time, bringing the wiping contacts 35 alternately in engagement with the stationary contacts 20 and 28 to bridge these contacts and close the circuit, or bring these contacts 35 to rest on the inclined curved surfaces 56 of the insulating body member to break the circuit.

It will be obvious that this construction and arrangement as described above is extremely simple, that the insulating body member is all in one piece and forms the mounting for the entire switch mechanism and the electrical connections thereto as well as the guide for the pull chain. It is also apparent that in the arrangement as described the parts are all easily accessible for assembly, inspection or repair, and also that the binding posts are arranged for easy connection of the lead wires and when mounted in the shell it is practically impossible for stray strands of wire to come in contact with other elements to short circuit the switch.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a lamp socket, an insulating body member flattened on one longitudinal side wall and provided with spaced recesses in the opposite side Wall, a switch mechanism mounted on the flattened side including a non-conducting ratchet disc mounted to turn about an axis transverse the longitudinal axis of the body, a flexible pull chain, means for connecting the chain to said disc adjacent the periphery thereof and adapted to engage the edge of the disc so that the pull of the chain is always substantially tangent thereto, and a chain guide through which said chain passes secured directly to the body member with its axis substantially tangent to the periphery of the disc.

2. In a lamp socket, an insulating body member, switch mechanism mounted on said body in cluding a ratchet, a flexible pull chain connected to said ratchet, said body having spaced shoulders on one side, and a funnel guide for said chain having a hook to engage over one shoulder and a cross bar connected by a bendable connection to the guide to permit the bar to be moved to a position back of the other shoulder.

3. In a lamp socket, an insulating body member, switch mechanism mounted on said body, a flexible pull chain connected to the switch mechanism, said body being provided with a recess in one side and a shoulder spaced therefrom, and a funnel guide for the chain having a hook to engage in said recess and a cross bar connected to the funnel by a bendable connection to permit shifting oi. the bar to and from engagement with said shoulder.

4. In a lamp socket, an insulating body member, switch mechanism mounted on said body, a flexible pull chain connected to the switch mechanism, said body being provided in one side wall with a recess and a shoulder spaced from said recess, a funnel guide for the chain having a hook to engage in said recess and a lateral wall spaced therefrom to engage the body and hold the hook in the recess, and a cross bar connected to the funnel by a bendable connection to permit movement of the bar to engagement with the shoulder to lock the funnel to the body member.

5. In a lamp socket, a one piece insulating body member flattened on one longitudinal side wall, spaced recesses on the opposite exterior longitudinal wall thereof, circuit interrupting means mounted on said flattened side including a non-conducting ratchet disc adapted to rotate about an axis transverse the longitudinal axis of said body member, tension means adapted to impart intermittent rotary movement to said ratchet disc and connecting means adapted to maintain constant leverage therebetween, guiding means removably mounted directly on said body member adapted to guide said tension means tangentially to said ratchet disc, and means adapted to protect said ratchet disc from excess movement of said tension means.

CHARLES E. AVERY. 

